Crusaders' Cordeiro ready to step out of Tagovailoa's shadow and into the spotlight

2017-05-13T03:26:52Z2017-05-24T04:01:09Z

(Image: Hawaii News Now)

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Less than six months since winning the fourth state title in program history, the Saint Louis Crusaders are back to work. However, things are much different now than they were in November.

Tua Tagovailoa would be taking high school finals this month, instead he was already tearing up the Alabama defense.

"Tua has definitely raised the bar for all the quarterbacks that will follow him," said Crusaders quarterbacks coach Vince Passas.

The guy stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight next season will be senior Chevan Cordeiro.

"I got to learn from the best QB in the state for two years and got to learn the offense," said Cordeiro.

"I told him that, gosh, even Marcus Mariota would have had a hard time getting on the field with Tua there," Passas said.

Saint Louis offensive coordinator Ron Lee has high expectations of his new quarterback, saying he should be the best in the state next season.

Tape on Cordeiro is limited, and so are the college offers. The University of Hawaii was his first just two weeks ago, but you can bet there will be a lot of interest this coming season for the QB that Lee compared to Timmy Chang, but faster, stronger, and throws the ball better at this point.

"There's a lot of pressure on him, especially after Tua, but I'm very impressed with his work ethic and his arm strength," said Lee. "He's exceptionally accurate on the deep ball, so there's a lot of good things that we're excited about."

At Saint Louis, the bar for quarterbacks is raised a bit higher.

"Everybody wants to be the next guy," said Passas. "The guys that have come before them have done a great job from John Hau, to Joe Lane, to Darnell Arceneaux, Jason Gesser, Timmy Chang, Marcus, all them guys. They just want to follow along that lineage of quarterbacks that makes our school so proud."

For Cordeiro, that would mean a fifth state title.

"We have a target on our back and everybody wants to beat us," said Cordeiro. "We just have to train and get better."